Neck ring cooling

ABSTRACT

A system for directing cooling air onto a neck ring in a glassware molding machine that includes at least one air plenum stationarily disposed at a blank mold station and having an internal cavity for receiving cooling air flowing laterally inwardly toward the axis and at least one outlet opening adjacent to the axis, a plunger wear plate disposed overlying at least a portion of the air plenum, and having an array of axially oriented openings for receiving air directed from the air plenum, a plurality of openings in the neck ring arm for receiving air from the openings in the plunger wear plate across a gap between the neck ring arm and the plunger wear plate when the neck ring arm overlies the plunger wear plate, and a plurality of air passages in the neck ring for receiving air from the neck ring arm openings.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to glassware forming machines,and more particularly to a system for cooling a neck ring assembly in aglassware forming machine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Individual section glassware forming machines typically include aninvert arm assembly that is oscillated or rotated approximately 180° totransfer a glass parison from a blank mold to a final blow mold in whichthe glassware is formed into its desired final shape. A glass gob isreceived in a mold cavity of a blank mold and formed into a parison thatis carried by neck ring tooling on the invert arm assembly. The invertarm assembly is then inverted by rotation about a longitudinal axis todispose the parison into the final mold. Thereafter, the invert arm isreturned to its starting position adjacent to the blank mold for asubsequent cycle. Considerable heat is required to maintain theformability of the molten glass gobs as they are formed into articles ofglassware, such as glass containers. Accordingly, the devices used toform the glass gobs into the glass containers must be capable ofcontinued operation in this high heat environment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system for directing cooling air onto a neck ring in a glasswaremolding machine that includes at least one stationary blank mold stationhaving at least one plunger cylinder with an axis and at least one neckring arm selectively aligned with the blank mold station, and at leastone neck ring carried by a neck ring arm and movable into a formingposition at the blank mold station coaxially with the axis. The systemincludes at least one air plenum stationarily disposed at the blank moldstation and having an internal cavity for receiving cooling air flowinglaterally inwardly toward the axis and having at least one outletopening adjacent to the axis, and a plunger wear plate stationarilydisposed overlying at least a portion of the air plenum, and having anarray of axially oriented openings for receiving air directed from theair plenum. The system further includes a plurality of openings in theneck ring arm for receiving air from the openings in the plunger wearplate across a gap between the neck ring arm and the plunger wear platewhen the neck ring arm overlies the plunger wear plate, and a pluralityof air passages in the neck ring for receiving air from the neck ringarm openings.

In one presently preferred implementation, the blank mold station ismounted on a hollow section box that is internally pressured withcooling air, and the system further includes an air passage from withinthe section box to the plenum internal cavity to provide cooling airflow from the section box to the plenum. In this manner, cooling air isimmediately provided from the section box to and through the invert armassembly and onto the neck ring tooling.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method isprovided for cooling a neck ring in a glassware forming machine thatincludes a section box providing a supply of cooling air, and a plungercylinder having an axis. The method includes the steps of providing anair plenum having an internal cavity defining a flow path that extendsradially toward the axis and axially to an outlet, providing an airpassage adjacent to the said neck ring that is aligned with the outletof the air plenum, and directing cooling air from the section box to theair passage so the cooling air flows radially in the air plenum towardthe axis, and then axially from the outlet to the air passages to coolthe neck ring.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features, advantages and aspects of the presentinvention will be apparent from the following detailed description ofthe preferred embodiments and best mode, appended claims andaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of an individualsection glassware forming machine and an invert arm assembly with neckring tooling according to one presently preferred embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view illustrating theinvert arm assembly of FIG. 1 with some of the neck ring toolingremoved;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a section box top plate andneck ring cooling air plenum assembly;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a portion of theneck ring cooling air plenum and a damper valve assembly that ispartially broken away to illustrate details of the damper valve;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the neck ringcooling air plenum illustrating a path of air flow therethrough; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective sectional view of a portion of theneck ring cooling air plenum.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring in more detail to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a portionof an individual section glassware forming machine 10 including a neckring cooling assembly 12 according to one presently preferred embodimentof the present invention. The individual section glassware formingmachine 10 includes a blank mold station wherein glass gobs are receivedin blank mold cavities and are formed into glass parisons carried byneck rings 16 on neck ring arms 14. The neck ring arms 14 are carried byan invert arm assembly (not shown) and are driven 180° about alongitudinal axis to dispose the glass blanks carried by neck rings 16in cavities of a final blow mold. In the final blow mold the glassblanks are blow molded into articles of glassware, such as glasscontainers. The articles of glassware are released from the neck rings16 and the neck ring arms 14 are reciprocated back to their startingposition adjacent to the blank mold for a subsequent cycle. An invertarm of the type suitable for use with an individual section machine isdisclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/609,444, the disclosureof which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Likewise,the section boxes, blank mold and finish molds may be of generallyconventional construction, with exceptions as noted herein.

The glassware forming machine includes a section box 20 of which a topplate 22 is shown in FIG. 1. The section box 20 is closed and ispreferably pressurized with cooling air at a pressure of about 2-3 psi,by way of example without limitation. A valve 24 is disposed adjacent toan outlet 26 (FIG. 5) of the top plate 22 and is adapted to control theflow of cooling air therethrough. The valve 24 may be controlled by aremotely located solenoid, and may be pneumatically driven to its closedposition and yieldably biased to its open position. When closed, thevalve 24 prevents cooling air flow out of the section box 20 through theoutlet 26, and when open, the valve 24 permits flow of cooling air outof the outlet 26.

A cooling air flow valve assembly, or damper valve assembly 30 isdisposed downstream of the outlet 26 and is constructed and arranged tocontrol the rate at which cooling air flows therethrough. The dampervalve assembly 30 is carried on a mounting plate 32 fixed to the topplate 22 and includes an annular generally cylindrical collar 34 fixedto the mounting plate 32, a cylindrical housing 36 disposed within thecollar 34, and a valve body 38 (FIGS. 4 and 5) disposed within thehousing 36. The housing 36 is preferably slidably received within thecollar 34 for relative axial movement of the housing 36 relative to thecollar 34 and the section box top plate 22. As best shown in FIG. 4, thecollar 34 preferably includes a circumferential groove 40 in its innersurface to receive an O-ring or other seal 42 between the collar 34 andhousing 36 for a fluid tight seal between them. The housing 36 isconnected to a laterally extending bracket or tube assembly 46 which inturn is connected to and moveable with an air plenum 48, as will be setforth in more detail.

The valve body 38 is received for rotation within the housing 36 on anintegral shaft and a bolt 44, and is axially supported by a retainingring 45 in the housing 36. The valve body 38 is preferably a hollowcylinder having a circumferentially and axially extending opening 50formed through its side wall 52 defining a portion of the flow path ofthe cooling air from the section box to the neck rings 16. A detent ball54 may be carried by the valve body 38 along with a compression spring55 that forces the detent ball 54 into one or more holes or detents 56formed in an inner surface 57 of the tube assembly 46 to releaseablyretain the valve body 38 in one of a plurality of positions. The maximumrotation of the valve body 38 can be controlled with a screw 60 disposedwithin a circumferentially extending slot 62 in an upper surface 58 ofthe valve body 38 such that engagement of the screw 60 with the ends ofthe slot 62 limits the rotation of the valve body 38.

The opening 50 in the valve body 38 is selectively and variably alignedwith an opening 63 (FIG. 5) in the housing 36 that is communicated witha passage 64 formed in the tube assembly 46. Preferably, the valve body38 can be rotated so that the opening 50 is completely out of alignmentwith the passage 64, thereby preventing or at least substantiallyrestricting cooling air flow into the passage 64 when desired. The valvebody 38 can also be manually rotated to various positions as preferablydetermined by the detent arrangement to vary and adjust the flow area ofthe opening 50 that is aligned with the passage 64 to thereby vary theflow rate through the valve 38 and into the passage 64.

The tube assembly 46 preferably extends outwardly from and may be partof the air plenum 48 that is stationary and carried on a plungercylinder housing 70 mounted on the section top plate 22 such as by aplurality of machine screws 72. The plunger cylinder housing 70includes, in the embodiment shown, three generally cylindrical cavities74 that define at least in part three separate plunger cylinders 16 eachadapted to receive a plunger in a press-and-blow type individual sectionglassware forming machine. Each plunger cylinder 76 has an axis that isparallel with an axis of the blank mold station. A plunger cylinder cap78 may be disposed on the plunger cylinder housing 70 and preferablyincludes an annular and generally cylindrical skirt 80 for each plungercylinder 76 so that the cap 78 defines part of the plunger cylinders 76.The height of the damper valve housing 36 is changed when the plungercylinder height is changed which raises or lowers the air plenum 48 thatis attached to them. To accommodate such variation in the axial heightof the tube assembly 46, the damper valve housing 36 is slidablyreceived within the collar 34 with an airtight seal provided by the seal42 between them in all positions of the damper valve housing 36.

At its other end, the passage 64 in the tube assembly 46 communicateswith the air plenum 48. The air plenum 48 preferably includes a pair ofplates 82, 84 mated together with a passage or internal cavity 86defined between them to permit air flow from the tube assembly 46 andinto the cavity 86. At least one of the plates 82, 84 includes aplurality of generally cylindrical holes 88 coaxially aligned with theplunger cavities 74 and defining in part the plunger cylinders 76. Asbest shown in FIG. 2, an upper plate 82 of the air plenum 48 preferablyincludes a plurality of arcuate slots that define outlet openings 90adjacent to and spaced radially outwardly from the holes 88 eachcommunicating with the air cavity 86 to permit cooling air flowtherethrough. Accordingly, the outlet openings 90 are adjacent to theaxis of their respective plunger cylinders 76.

A plunger wear plate 92 is disposed on the upper plate 82 of the airplenum 48 and in use is adjacent to the neck ring arms 14 when the neckring arms 14 are at the blank mold side of the individual sectionglassware forming machine 10. The plunger wear plate 92 may bestationarily connected to the air plenum 48 by a plurality of machinescrews 94. The plunger wear plate 92 preferably includes a plurality ofopenings 96, with each opening 96 coaxially aligned with a separate oneof the plunger cavities 74 and defining in part a plunger cylinder 76.An array of axially oriented openings 98 in the plunger wear plate 92are provided spaced radially outwardly from each opening 96 andcircumferentially spaced from each other with each opening 98 beingaligned with a respective one of the outlet openings 90 in the airplenum 48 to permit air flow from the air plenum 48 through the plungerplate openings 98.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the neck ring arms 14 are preferably mirrorimages of each other with each including a plurality of arcuate recesses100 that when the arms are closed together, define a plurality ofcircular openings that are preferably coaxially aligned with the plungercylinders 76. A plurality of sets of neck rings 16 are carried by thearms with each set of tooling including two neck ring halves 102. Oneneck ring half 102 of each set is carried by a separate one of the neckring arms 14 so that when the neck ring arms 14 are brought together,the neck rings 16 are moved to a closed position with the halves 102 ofeach set of neck rings 16 being closed together. The neck ring arms 14are also moveable away from each other to separate the halves 102 of theneck rings 16 and to release the neck rings 16 from a finish of a moldedglassware article.

As best shown in FIG. 2, each neck ring arm 16 includes a radiallyinwardly extending arcuate channel 104 in which a portion of the neckrings 16 is received to facilitate mounting and locating the neck rings16 on the neck ring arms 14. The channel 104 defines in part, upper andlower rims 106, 108, respectively, through which a plurality of alignedopenings or bores 110 extend with each bore 110 opening into the channel104 and being circumferentially spaced from adjacent bores 110.Additionally, each bore 110 is preferably aligned with a through bore 98in the plunger wear plate 92 to receive air that passes through theplunger wear plate 92 and across a gap between the plunger wear plate 92and the neck ring arms 14 when the neck ring arms 14 are disposed overthe plunger wear plate 92.

Each half 102 of each set of the neck rings 16 includes a radiallyoutwardly extending flange 112 disposed in the recess 104 of an neckring arm 14. Axially extending slots 114 formed in the flange 112 eachdefine part of a plurality air passages 115 that permit air flow betweenthe neck ring arm 14 and neck rings 16. The neck rings 16 preferablyalso include a plurality of slots 116 or cavities extending above theneck ring arms 14 that also define part of the air passage and throughwhich air that passes through the neck ring arms 14 is discharged to theatmosphere. The upper slots 116 or cavities are preferably angled ortapered radially outwardly to direct the air flow away from the finishof containers or blank molds carried by the neck rings 16 to preventpremature cooling of the blank molds or containers. Otherwise, the neckring arms 14 or neck rings 16 can be of substantially conventionalconstruction including a central bore coaxially aligned with the plungercylinders when the neck ring tooling is in position to form and hold thefinish of the articles of glassware.

Accordingly, as best shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, cooling air flows from thepressurized section box 20, upward or axially through the flow controlvalve 24, axially into and radially out of the damper valve 30 towardthe axis, radially into and axially out of the passage 64 in the tubeassembly 46, axially into, radially within toward the axis of theplunger cylinders, and axially out of the air plenum 48, and axiallyinto and through the plunger wear plate 92 and into the neck ring arms14. In the neck ring arms 14, the cooling air is passed axially throughthe bores 110 in the neck ring arms 14 and the slots 114, 116 in theneck rings 16 to cool them in use. Desirably, the cooling air flow pathfrom the section box 20 to the neck ring arms 14 and neck rings 16 isseparate from the cooling system used to cool the blank molds or othercomponents of the individual section glassware forming machine 10.Accordingly, the neck rings 16 and neck ring arms 14 can be cooled asdesired without regard to the cooling of other components of theindividual section glassware forming machine 10.

While certain preferred embodiments, constructions and arrangements ofthe neck ring cooling system have been shown and described herein, oneof ordinary skill in this art will readily understand that modificationsand substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A system for directing cooling air onto a neck ring in a glasswaremolding machine that includes at least one stationary blank mold stationhaving at least one plunger cylinder with an axis, said systemincluding: at least one neck ring arm selectively aligned with the blankmold station; at least one neck ring carried by a neck ring arm andmovable into a forming position at said blank mold station coaxiallywith said axis, said system including: at least one air plenumstationarily disposed at said blank mold station, said air plenum havingan internal cavity for receiving cooling air flowing laterally inwardlytoward said axis and having at least one outlet opening adjacent to saidaxis, a plunger wear plate stationarily disposed overlying at least aportion of said air plenum, and having an array of axially orientedopenings for receiving air directed from said air plenum, a plurality ofopenings in said neck ring arm for receiving air from said openings insaid plunger wear plate across a gap between said neck ring arm and saidplunger wear plate when said neck ring arm overlies said plunger wearplate, and a plurality of air passages in said neck ring for receivingair from said neck ring arm openings.
 2. The system set forth in claim 1wherein said blank mold station is mounted on a hollow section box thatis internally pressured with cooling air, and further includes an airpassage from within said section box and communicated with said plenuminternal cavity.
 3. The system set forth in claim 2 wherein said airpassage includes a control valve that is selectively operable to feedcooling air to said plenum when said neck ring arm overlies said plungerwear plate.
 4. The system set forth in claim 3 wherein said air passageincludes a damper valve for operator adjustment of air flow to saidplenum when said control valve is open.
 5. The system set forth in claim4 wherein said damper valve is surrounded by a cylindrical housing thatis adjustably and sealingly mounted on said section box.
 6. The systemset forth in claim 5 wherein said housing is received for axiallymovement relative to the section box.
 7. The system set forth in claim 4wherein said damper valve includes a detent mechanism that permits thedamper valve to be releasably maintained in a plurality of positionscorresponding to a plurality of air flow rates through the damper valve.8. The system set forth in claim 4 which also comprises a bracket whichsupports the damper valve and includes a passage communicating at oneend with the damper valve to receive air that flows out of the dampervalve and at its other end with the air plenum to direct air from thedamper valve to the air plenum.
 9. The system set forth in claim 8wherein said passage in the bracket includes a portion orientedgenerally radially inwardly toward the air plenum and a portionextending axially to the air plenum.
 10. The system set forth in claim 1wherein said air passages in said neck ring include a portionconstructed to direct air radially outwardly therefrom.
 11. The systemset forth in claim 10 wherein said portion of said air passages in saidneck ring extends axially in said neck ring and is tapered radiallyoutwardly.
 12. The system set forth in claim 1 wherein the neck ringincludes a portion received in the neck ring arm and a portion extendingout of the neck ring arm, and said air passage is formed at least inpart in each of said portions of the neck ring.
 13. The system set forthin claim 1 which also includes a damper valve adapted to control theflow of cooling air from a section box to said air plenum.
 14. Thesystem set forth in claim 13 wherein said damper valve includes anoutlet and is adjustable to vary the flow area of the outlet.
 15. Thesystem set forth in claim 13 wherein the damper valve is carried by theair plenum and is axially adjustable relative to the section box.